Thursday MLB NRFI Odds, Expert Picks, Predictions: First Inning Friendly to Patrick Sandoval, Drew Rasmussen (August 25)

Shayne Trail breaks down his favorite NRFI/YRFI bet of the day below, but you can follow all of his bets in the Action Network app.

Angels vs.

Rays

No Runs First Inning (-138)

On Thursday, we will travel to Tropicana Field to find value in an NRFI between the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays will send out Drew Rasmussen, who is 18-3 to the NRFI with a 9-1 home NRFI split. In 84 first-inning batters faced. Rasmussen has only issued five walks, displaying great command early on while only allowing 16 hits and a .205 first-inning average.

These Angels hitters have limited appearances against Rasmussen, which will play to his advantage. Here are some of the past matchups:

• Luis Rengifo: 0-for-1
• David Fletcher: 0-for-1

Some Angels hitters are also in the midst of a slump batting well under .200:

• Shohei Ohtani 2-for-16
• David Fletcher: 5-for-26
• Taylor Ward 4-for-24

The Angels will counter with Patrick Sandoval, who is 15-5 to the NRFI with a 7-3 road NRFI split. The 25-year-old performs very well against leadoff hitters. They have gone 10-for-51 good for a .196 average. Sandoval has also not allowed a homer run to a leadoff hitter yet this year.

Here is how some of these Rays hitters have fared in the past against Sandoval:

• Ji-Man Choi 0-for-2
• Yandy Diaz: 1-for-4
• Brandon Lowe: 1-for-3
• Randy Arozarena: 0-for-1

In the month of August, the Rays rank last in first-inning hitting. In 86 plate appearances, the Rays have a soft contact percentage of 24.6%. So when they do make contact in the first inning, it’s nothing near significant.

Both teams are coming into today riding a 7-3 NRFI streak and played a long extra innings game Wednesday. With an afternoon start today, look for these bats to remain silent in the first inning continuing both teams' NRFI streaks.

As always, six outs to glory…

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